Queen-of-the-Prairie
Filipendula rubra
Fluffy rose-pink plumes tower 4 to 7 feet in midsummer with a light, sweet fragrance. Spreads into bold colonies in moist meadows and rain gardens.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
Nothing else in the native perennial palette makes this kind of impact in a moist border in July. towering pink plumes that glow in the afternoon light.
Queen-of-the-Prairie earns its name in midsummer when the towering flower plumes open in fluffy clouds of deep rose-pink. Reaching 4–7 feet, the blooms stand high above the rest of the garden, swaying in a breeze and catching light in a way that makes the whole plant glow on a July afternoon. The fragrance is light and sweet, the kind that reaches you before you see the plant. It's a prairie and wet meadow plant that spreads by rhizomes to form bold colonies over time. The deeply cut, pinnate leaves have tropical texture and turn yellow in fall. Give it a moist spot at the back of a border, a rain garden edge, or a low meadow area and it will naturalize and expand year after year with essentially no maintenance.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown queen-of-the-prairie propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 4–7 ft · 24–48 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer, late summer
- Bloom color
- Pink
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- Eastern and Central United States
Care notes for queen-of-the-prairie.
Full sun to part shade in moist to wet, fertile soil. The more moisture the better. this is a stream-bank and wet meadow plant at heart. Spreads by rhizomes; divide every few years to prevent overcrowding. Cut back to ground in late fall. Divide and share: it spreads generously. Good cut flower.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside queen-of-the-prairie.
Or skip the guesswork.
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